Alex Salmond, outgoing First Minister of Scotland - my personal tribute.

I took this picture of the outgoing First Minister
of Scotland earlier this year - he is a canny, well
liked and highly skilled politician.

If you've got no access to a television, smartphone, tablet, computer or any media then you will be one of the very few people on this planet not to be in the knowledge of what has unfolded here in Scotland over the last 24 to 48 hours. 

As a supporter of the Yes campaign,  I am personally devastated, hurt and very upset by the outcome of the Scottish independence referendum. Yet at the same time, I'm proud also. With a turnout of well over 80%, it is clear that democracy was the big winner with this referendum. But the outcome of the vote has sadly led to the forthcoming loss of quite probably one of the greatest (if not the greatest) politician to have ever led Scotland. 

When I arrived home at lunchtime today, a volcano of emotions erupted. Tears, sadness, devastation, sorrow and even anger. Yes I know the last one is very drastic, but it was inevitable. Let me add though that I wasn't angry at anybody. I was just angry that my country was never granted the ability to take it's place on the international stage as an independent country.

I slept much of those emotions off throughout the afternoon and when I woke up, I discovered that our current First Minister announced that he was to resign towards the end of 2014. Now you would expect me to feel a sense of complete and total sadness at that news, wouldn't you? Well I did feel upset for him, but the main feeling that emerged for me was a sense of relief, happiness and respect for the man who has led our nation since 2007.

Let's face it, Alex Salmond could not have done any more in his current role. He led his party to two stunning election victories in both 2007 and 2011. I have never been a member of the Scottish National Party, but my admiration for him and his party existed, especially in the latter of the two victories. At that time, I was still a Conservative member yet I can still remember wanting to see the Scottish National Party win. I was so impressed by how the party managed to govern effectively despite having to work as a minority within the Scottish Parliament in their first term of office.

Alex Salmond's party frankly deserved their overall majority in 2011, because they proved to people across Scotland and beyond that they could run an administration with competence. I don't think they got everything right, but they certainly performed well. But as far as the issue of independence was concerned, it was always going to be a big ask. Yet despite this, the MSP for Aberdeenshire East proved why he is one of the world's most skilful politicians. He outplayed Westminster and the Prime Minister from the start all the way until before the referendum vote. 

The loss for Yes is something that the First Minister should never be blamed for. Rather, he should be very proud that the Yes campaign managed to convince well over 1.5 million people in Scotland to vote in favour of independence. When you consider the overall environment in Scotland, it is an absolutely remarkable achievement. He could have very easily continued on, but I think he was absolutely right to resign. He doesn't need to put himself through any unnecessary agony, pressure or stress in the coming weeks. And he will depart Bute House with dignity and his integrity well in tact.

I think when we move on, history will put Alex Salmond in a good light. This is a man who wanted the best for his country. This is a man who was willing to lead from the front and do what was necessary to make Scotland more appealing and relevant internationally. I absolutely reject the absolutely absurd and downright malicious assertion that he was an arrogant individual. Arrogance is not the same as being assertive. He asserted himself appropriately and although he was quite mischievous at times, he was never boring and always wanted the best for the country. It is people like him that makes politics tolerable.

Despite this referendum, he is a winner. Scotland needs winners. And that's why he will always be someone that I will regard with a deep sense of affection for the rest of my life.

My genuine fears for Scotland post-referendum

The sun will truly set one way or the other on
September 19th in Scotland.

Four weeks today, Scotland will be at a major crossroad - one direction will lead to independence and another one will lead to remaining within the United Kingdom. Either way, one side of the debate will win and the other will be defeated.

And don't think for a second that this is going to be the first of a series of referenda on Scotland's future. This is a once in a lifetime occasion which will never be repeated. The way the polls are trending at the moment suggests that the result isn't going to be a 70/30 or even a 60/40 split.

For the last few days, the result of people's emotions after the result of the referendum has started to really worry me. Many people have stated their possible intention of quitting Scotland if the result doesn't go the way they want - the results of a recent survey by Panelbase for The Sunday Times and Heart radio station suggested that around 700,000 people in Scotland could emigrate if the referendum ended up with a Yes vote and around 200,000 people in Scotland would quit the country if the result of the referendum was a No. Both figures are not small (link to article from The Scotsman website).

The biggest flaw some people complain about with the upcoming referendum is the fact that there are only two options on the tablet for voters - independence or (arguably) nothing. And the group of voters in particular that will really not appreciate this are those who wanted to vote for a possible third option where it was, for example, "Devolution Plus" or "Devolution Max". What if we end up with a No vote and, after all this long period of time debating, nothing happens? That would go down well with very few people - in June 2012, according to the results of a Ipsos MORI/Reform Scotland survey, only 29% opted for the "status quo" option (link to UK Polling Report website).

Now I know people on the No side insist that more powers will be delivered to the Scottish Parliament under devolution, but how do we really know that is going to definitely happen? The three main pro-union parties at Holyrood have all come up with different ideas and have failed to make a united agreement on what extra powers will be legislated for after the referendum. It could turn out to be their biggest mistake in recent Scottish history and the Better Together side will have nobody but themselves to blame if they lose. However, will it all depend on who wins the 2015 UK General Election? Probably.

On the contrary, it should be asked as to why the Yes side are not leading the polls with just around a month to go. I do not think for a second that anyone within Yes Scotland seem to be panicking at the moment, but time is running out if they want to have enough momentum on their side in order to claim victory. Then again, will they pull off an extraordinary victory? The Scottish National Party certainly did in the 2011 election for the Scottish Parliament, so who knows?

I also felt that the First Minister is still not setting out that unambiguous of a case for Sterling to remain as the main currency of Scotland. When I quizzed Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on this issue in Kirkcaldy last Tuesday, she gave me a really strong and, frankly, unambiguous case - maybe it should have been her debating Alistair Darling on STV over a fortnight ago.

What also attracted my attention this week was the contrast between many of the polls which illustrate that a No vote was likely and the result of a survey carried out in working class communities by the Radical Independence Campaign. They found that support for a Yes vote stood at 44%, No on 25% and Don't Knows on 31%. Take the latter of the three away and the split would be 63/37 in favour of a Yes vote (link to article from The Scotsman website). 

Now I couldn't source results of another separate survey for those that live in middle class communities, but the possible inequality between those that are well off and those that aren't well off and what both groups of people want for Scotland's future appears very disturbing and divisive to me as far as the future of Scottish society is concerned.

The last thing to consider for now is the fact that this forthcoming referendum is unchartered territory for everybody in Scotland. We have never had a referendum of this kind before and none of us on this earth can really determine what is going to really happen after the result is announced. However, I fear that the political mood of this country will become so toxic that matters could become really unhealthy and it is the responsibility of the politicians to ensure that a sense of calm resumes after the referendum.

The outcome of the vote on September 18th 2014 will go right to the wire. Put it this way, it's like a football cup final - there won't be a draw. And only one side can win this debate.